[Boatanchors] Repairing plastic VTVM meter cover

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

John,

Too bad that Barry O isn't routinely around these days as he'd probably 
know.  But unlike the plastics used in WW-II and some Korean War vintage 
military grade sets (mostly Bakelite), my recollection of the civilian gear of the 
50's and 60's is that they usually used thermoplastic plastics similar to 
what was used in plastic model airplanes (and ships and vehicles) and that 
the "glue" was actually a solvent.  I can't recall what the solvent was, 
touluene perhaps.  It was mixed with some sort of gel to make it more handleable. 
 If someone who played with it back then can recall the solvent, it is 
undoubtedly still available.  The packaged product probably isn't.  I think it 
was taken off the market to prevent glue-sniffers from winning the Darwin 
Award and improving the human gene pool.  :-)  Testors used to make it, among 
others.  But I doubt it had a 50+ year shelf life.

Anyway, if the plastic is of that sort, the solvent type cement will work 
far better than any adhesive type.  As with a butt weld in steel, the 
resultant joint will be nearly as strong as the parent material.  Because 
chemically, it is almost the same as the parent material.  The only caveat is that 
the joint will not be quite transparent.  But it wouldn't be at all with epoxy 
or cyanoacrylic.


> >Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2009 19:55:18 -0700
> >From: k5pgw at yahoo.com
> >To: boatanchors at mailman.qth.net
> >Subject: [Boatanchors] Repairing plastic VTVM meter cover
> >
> >Today, I knocked over my Heath IM 18 VTVM and cracked the meter face 
> cover. I corner of the plastic meter face cover was broken OUT.
> >
> >I would like to glue the hunk of plastic back in the plastic cover but 
> something tells me that super glue will NOT WORK. Any experience with gluing 
> this type of clear plastic out there?
> >
> >Suggestions based upon your experience with this type of plastic will be 
> appreciated. Thanks and 73, John, K5PGW
> >
> 

Robert Downs - Houston
wa5cab dot com (Web Store)
MVPA 9480